Local naturalist Chel Anderson collaborated on this comprehensive look at the North Shore.
Authors Chel Anderson and Heidi Fischer will read and sign copies of their new book North Shore: A Natural History of Minnesota’s Superior Coast at two events in Grand Marais May 23.
The first event will feature Hovland resident Chel Anderson at 6 p.m. May 23 at Drury Lane Books in Grand Marais, followed by an appearance at 7 p.m. at North House Folk School.
Describing the book, Anderson writes: “Propelled by wings, fins, legs, and the wind, life has found a way to Minnesota’s North Shore for more than 12,000 years. Some plants and animals have taken up residence in the region’s ancient mountains, others in its lakes and flowing rivers. Together, they weave a living fabric of sublime and fascinating beauty.”
“The story of this region unfolds through the five interconnected areas of Minnesota’s North Shore watershed—the meandering rivers of the headwaters, the deep and dense forest of the highlands, the rocky nearshore, the drama of Lake Superior, and its mysterious islands, including Isle Royale and Susie Island archipelagos,” Anderson said.
Each section of the book begins with an overview of the forces that have shaped the area, then the focus turns to a wide range of inhabitants, such as chorus frogs and star-nosed moles, butterworts and coaster brook trout, jeweled diatoms and pitcher plants, black bears and blue-spotted salamanders. Each chapter links to the region’s broader history, from the sculpting of the land by mile-high glaciers to the role of scientific exploration, the advent of logging, the development of tourism, and the changing global climate.
Anderson came to live and work on Minnesota’s North Shore in 1974. Since then she has worked in various positions in the Superior National Forest, as a consulting ecologist and botanist in the private and public sectors, and with the Minnesota Biological Survey.
Fischer, a 16-year Minnesota resident, is a writer who focuses on natural history, ecology, and environmental history.
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